Fires of Venus
by 14thDoctor
Summary: A story that takes place involving the Doctor in his newest steampunk incarnation, and his companions. With him are Ellena Vanet, a hot headed girl that enjoys the lolita fashion sense greatly, and Anne Plunket, a young girl about the age of 8. In Venus, flames are brewing, and something dark, form the end of time itself plans on burning its way through there.
1. Part 1

~~~ Fires of Venus ~~~

~~~~~~Part 1~~~~~~

The Doctor fiddled with the controls of his Tardis, a monitor before him with a single line upon its wide green screen. "Come to Utopia", with co-ordinates written besides it. He paid little attention to it his hands working on a typewriter on the console. He grabbed a cable and yanked it sharply. Sparks flew everywhere, electricity surging out of the yanked cable, and across several that hung from the ceiling for a moment, but it only lasted a moment.  
"Where's the towels!?" a sharp scream rang out from one of the corridors. The Doctor raised a eyebrow in acknowledgment of the remark, but paid little attention. The controls garnered his utmost attention as he gestured sloppily towards the corridor his companion had yelled out from.  
"The closet of course! Two doors down on the opposite side, the blue room!" he circled the controls, hitting buttons and pulling levers all the while, causing the console room to shake something horrid, yet Ellena never felt even the slightest most tremble from where she stood.  
A groan came from the Corridor, along with mumblings and huffings and puffings, not that the Doctor heard much of it. He wiggled a brow as she fiddled around the corridor, before deciding to make his way over. He needed a generator. He had an idea, and remembered a particular the generator in storage, down at the end of the very same hallway that the withering about girl was in. Another sharp shriek caused him to recoil a slight in surprise. The girl hastily attempted to cover herself with her hands, still wet and dripping along the ground.  
"I'm naked!" she screamed out like a Banshee, fiddling about on her toes backing away.  
"You can turn around if it embarrasses you," he remarked with a slight tone of confusion before continuing off on his way , not paying a second look at her after the shriek. He didn't flinch as another scream came out behind him, followed swiftly by the slamming of a door. Wrong room he supposed.  
He returned to the console room with the massive generator, twice his size, strapped to his back. He noticed Frobisher in his penguin form, waddling his way past him, still dripping wet with a towel around his waste, disappearing off into one of the many corridors of the Tardis, one that he hadn't been in for at least 600 years by his estimate. When he had returned to the console room, he observed Ellena and Anne chatting.  
"Doctor!" Ellena let out a growl, trying her best to tap her bare foot on the grated flooring, but alas she failed to produce any noise, much to her added frustration. "Clothing?!"  
"I'm already wearing some." He remarked absent mindlessly. Grabbing a hand grip on the floor grating, he pulled it wide open before jumping down to the lower level of the console room, his scarfs ends flying in the air on his way down.  
"I meant for me!" She yelled after him, looking down from the trap door. He was already out of view, with electrical sparks flying about. The whirl of the sonic could be heard, followed by the spraying of a fire extinguisher. "What did you do to my clothes?!" A grating flew open behind her, followed by coughing and a ash covered Doctor.  
"It's in the wash, it should be done before long. I find conventional technology seems to just make everything feel and smell so much more fresh, I think you'd agree if you ever tried a hydrosonic garment sterilization unit." He crawled out of the trap door before kicking it closed with his boot.  
'Steel toe,' Ellena observed with her keen eye for detail, she noticed the shape of the boots end, and could easily tell. 'How tacky' she thought to herself.'  
"There's plenty of clothing in the wardrobe room, some quite similar to the dress you wore before I believe, " he paused in thought, looking up and sliding a finger along the center of his lips, the tip touching the end of his nose. "Angelic Pretty, wasn't it? I believe I had picked up a few of their dresses a life time ago." his remark led to big shining eyes, emanating from Ellena. She made a move towards him, but stopped swiftly, letting out a yelp and grabbing her towel, preventing it from dropping. She instead opted to proceed to bouncing a bit.  
"You have Lolita dresses?! In your Wardrobe? SHOW ME!" A demented yet joyous look was upon her face. He raised his eyebrow, not so much in surprise as in acknowledgment and thought. Grabbing at his scarf, he tugged it down under his chin.  
"Oh yes, I have quite a few brands, had to add a few rooms to the wardrobe last regeneration, my wardrobe was a bit lacking in the lady clothing department, I've come to find out, so I rectified that." Ellena's eyes bugged out and started nudging him by the shoulders, pushing him down the hall, one hand keeping the towel firmly around her.  
He conceded to her persistence, and led the way. All the while as they made their way down the corridors of the Tardis, he continued to mutter something about the Pineapple incident that had gathered him a large collection of exotic clothing from some distant planet in Alpha Centuri. Ellena paid little attention. Her interest was purely upon the wardrobe, and she nearly danced with each step with eagerness to see the wardrobe, especially the section that contained brand Lolita dresses. Her jaw nearly dropped as she arrived, her eyes almost dancing along the many rows of clothing, gazing up throughout the translucent levels, seeing clothing of all sorts on display. Her eyes finally found her fix upon a certain frilly dress, about a level down from the railing that marked the entrance to the large circle room. She ran, skipping a stone with each step, the Doctor stumbling down the steps after her, as she dragged him by his hand, refusing to let go despite his efforts.

Ellena ran along the wardrobe, grabbing at dresses wildly as she left the Doctor to stand and watch. The Doctor took his pocket watch out of his watch, the silver chain contrasting against the dim gold watch. He gave it a polish and popped it open, exposing its gears and hands, all seven of them. He pulled up his goggles from his neck before looking at the hands of it. Second, Hour, Day, Month, Year, Season, Era. Rassilon Era, two hours past since they had arrived in the wardrobe, and no sign of her settling down.  
Dresses littered the ground, amusing Anne greatly as she hopped between the few and far apart clearings in the floor. Every time Ellena took a dress out, it ended up on the floor, whether she wore it or not. Alas she found herself dressed in a beige dress, floral patterns all along, with white frills all along the ends. She wore white leggings and tight sleeved shirt under it, that buttoned up under the dress with a frilly collar. A massive bow, bigger than her head, hung from her hair. She wiggled about happily, looking into one of the many mirrors of the wardrobe.  
The Doctor paid little notice as she asked him for his opinion, each time ending his praise with a "I suppose," or "I can see why someone would like that" or similar remarks. Once though, he dared to say something to the familiar of 'Handsome' which caused many blows to rain his way from her.  
Alas Ellena focused her eyes upon the Doctors wardrobe. She had a disapproving look upon her face. She started with flipping the straps of the goggles above his ears, not considering to wonder why he'd be wearing welding goggles as he stood there. She let out a 'Nyeh!' as she tugged open the bottom button of his grey with a tint of green vest, and proceeded to straighten his cravat that was sloppily tied. All the while the Doctor observed it with slight confusion, before attempting to pull away each time.  
"What the blazes are you doing?" He questioned as she began tuggig at his scarf, unfastening it around his neck and pulling it loose. She straighten the folds of his scarf as well, before deciding to make attempts at pulling it off of him.  
"It doesn't match!" She complained, disappointing of his outfit greatly. His annoyance peaked, and he began to wonder off, Ellena still clinging on. As he made his way out of the wardrobe, dragging Ellena let out a loud wail, "Noooooo!"

"Venus!" The Doctor rolled around the console room, hitting levels, flipping switches and pulling out plugs and cables.  
"They had the best parties in the nine galaxies! Sad your people would never get to meet them, they never did master space travel. They always put it off, saying they'll fund the space program when their economy was better, they had more resources, or when the technology was good enough to accomplish anything. Of course because of that philosophy, they never had a need to push for more advanced technological breakthrough's in the field, and were stuck on their planet as they filled their atmosphere with gases." He shook his head disapprovingly. Hitting the last lever, the Tardis shook, throwing them about. Ellena yelped as she fell on the railing, grabbing on for dear life, while Anne happily strolled up and down the console room, whichever way it tipped towards, enjoying the shaking greatly.  
"You cant push off space exploration and taking care of your planet for years and years, in the name of technology of economy!" He yelled out as the Tardis rocked greatly, side to side. Ellena sighed, she cared little for the Doctor's holier than thou rants. The Tardis settled down and let out a odd thudding noise, letting them know they've reached their destination. The Doctor wasted little time, and within a blink he had made his way out of the Tardis, with Ellena quickly following suit, and Ms. Plunket skipping after the two.  
Coughing and wheezing was the girls reaction to the new planet. The air was thick with black smog, causing the girls to quickly withdraw back into the safety of the Tardis. The Doctor was only taken back for a moment.  
"Alright, maybe I got the time off by a bit, a few hundred years from the planets prime, but still, Venus! Come along Vanet!" He shouted back into the Tardis before adjusting himself. Flipping his goggles upon his eyes, he adjusted the fastening of his scarf so that it naturally covered his mouth and nose. With that, he wondered off into the smog that inexplicably stopped right outside the Tardis door, making no sign of breaching the old Poice box.  
Ellena stared at the exit of the Tardis with a bewildered and repulsed look about her face, only looking away when she felt a tug at her dresses end.  
"Here you go." It was Anne, already robed in what appeared to be a dark blue rain cape with a hood, and a gas mask that hid her face. She handed Ellena a set for herself, and with a exchange of a couple confused words, she slipped the cape over her clothe. With the attire on, she pursued the Doctor into the smog. It only got worse when she went in, not only was there smog, but she could feel a blanked of humidity falling upon her.  
The Doctor mingled with what appeared to be a human male, if not for the fact that he was about seven feet tall, excessively slim, and hairless, Ellena might think she was on earth. He was robed in what looked like raggedy dirtied black robes, made up of material that looked very shiny and synthetic. His face was hidden behind a gas mask, that apparently had a voice amplifier, well, that's what Ellena assumed. What really caught her eye was his hand, there appeared to be something under the sleeve, but the fog and cloth covered its identity.  
"He sounds like Darth Vader" Anne giggled out to Ellena. She skipped towards the Doctor and his new friend, despite Ellena crying out for her to stop. Much to her frustration, she followed the two, much to the Doctors Satisfaction.  
"Ah Vorvun, meet my best friends! This is Anne and Ellena!" The Doctor introduced to them, gesturing to Ellena first, and then Anne.  
"How isn't your voice being muffled by the scarf?" Ellena asked with a brow raised, not that anyone could tell thanks to the mask.  
"This is Vorvun! I was telling him we just made it from beyond the acid sea, great timing too, the smog is very light today!" The Doctor cried out merrily. Ellena looked around, where she noticed she could see perhaps 5 yards ahead at best.  
"Lucky us." Ellena's sarcasm went unnoticed.  
"Not just that, the Peoples First party is having a festival in protest of the opening of the first recycling plant. The current Prime Minister has been passing environmental law after environmental law since he was elected a few months ago, and has decreed this day to be Green Day! The People First party thinks they should focus on the economy first, and plans having the festival to gather support. They're going to be lighting a massive bonefire with 6 miniature bon-fires around the edges, and there'll be drinking and dancing throughout the night!" He cheerily informed his companions. Vorvun spoke up himself, his voice bright and cheerily as he spoke way down to them.  
"There'll be fire jugglers, smog benders, and all the free booze you could handle vomiting!" he laughed out heartily, arching his back as he did, making him only the taller.  
"Will there be cotton candy or popcorn?" Anne asked, receiving a positive nod from Vorvun. Ellena didn't bother to ask how she planned on eating such things with the mask on, not even considering what it'd taste like exposed to the thick smog of the planet.

All the while, none to their notice, a figure loomed from past the smog where they could not see, listening, and following.


	2. Part 2

~~~ Fires of Venus ~~~

~~~~~~~Part 2~~~~~~~

"Do you always materialize within walking distance of something going on?" Ellena asked the Doctor as she enjoyed the warmth of one of the small outer fires. From there, they had a great view of the main stage from their incline, the fire dancers whirling flaming sticks as they danced to 80's sounding music. She adored their attire. They were adorn in punky pleather, buckles and spikes all about their body, with either makeup or tattoos all along their left side, visible where ever flesh was exposed. Ellena raised a brow, her eyes glancing to the dancers. All the Venusians wore gas masks that covered their face completely, but not them. She could even notice all the eyes they had, not that she counted them. She wondered for a moment, but paid little care.  
"I would hope so, it'd a bit boring if we materialized in the Sierra desert or on a Sunday." he responded, holding a ice cream cone. Anne was besides him, holding a ice cream cone herself, picking up the bottom of her mask every so often to give it a few laps of her tongue before covering her face back up and taking a few deep breaths.  
"That cannot be healthy. Every time you lick it, it goes from white to black again in less than a minute! Doctor?!" Ellena cried out. The Doctor responded by tugging down hi scarf and giving a lick and approving smile.  
"It really does add to the flavor! Brilliant." He took continued licking at his ice cream gingerly, much to Ellena's horror.  
"You two are weirdos!" She cried out in exaggerated pain. Before long, a massive flame erupted from the center stage that had surrounded the massive pile of wood. the center bonfire was lit by the dancers from all around the stage in unison. Ellena let out a yelp of surprise, followed by a few 'oo' and 'ah' sounds, very much enjoying the fire show. The warmth radiated so powerfully that she could feel it from there. It really was a display.  
"That's not lit with any normal logs. That's thanks to chemicals they introduced into the logs to cause it to seer so bright and quick. Horrendous for the environment in this quantities, but at least their heart is in the right place. A little late though. Within the next hundred years, the greenhouse gases will cause the planet to roast like a oven. Every year will get hotter and hotter, until your day where there's no trace that there ever was a civilization here. They wont even be able to get a good look at the planet for many years to come, they'll only know the fate of the planet, but never why. " The Doctor sighed out before wrapping his mouth around the whole of the ice cream, slurping up at the melty parts.  
"Are you going to help them?" Ellena asked. The Doctor alas shook his head.  
"It's history. " He retorted. Anne didn't care much for the direction this conversation was going, and all the while that the two bickered, she wandered off towards the main stage, happily eating her ice cream.  
"But can't you do something?" Despite questioning the Doctor for the Venusians sake, her voice was empty of any actual care for them, instead, only curiosity was in her tone.  
"I'm forbidden as a Time Lord to ever meddle in the affairs of lesser civilizations, sworn only to observe."  
"But you meddle all the time!" she cried out in sudden annoyance at the hypocrisy.  
"Well I never said I made a good Time Lord."  
"Well why can you interfere sometimes and other times you can't?" Ellena was starting to get pushy. Truth be told, she didn't care, but she sensed a debate brewing and she was going on the offensive. They could of been talking about pancakes and bacon for all she cared, she paid equal attention either way.  
"Think for a moment now Ellena. Imagine the dinosaurs, slowly evolving to become a sentient species in human-like form. Now just for a instant, imagine what would of happen if the meteor never hit. Imagine they created the wheel, the automobile, jets and rockets, all the while your species still hasn't even began evolving towards the form you are today. Imagine a space fairing race that settled the solar system. Yet still, all in the time before your race could begin to evolve passed the most basic rodentia. Now tell me Ellena, how do they treat rodents on your planet currently?" Ellena grew huffy.  
"You can't doom a race for what it might do though, even if you thought the kid would become a dictator, you can't do it without proof."  
"I'm thinking about the future that current is. They'll doom themselves regardless of what I do, in the end." The Doctor replied grimly, the flame from the bonfire reflecting upon his black lenses. With a huff, Ellena yanked at the strap of his welding goggles, pulling it over his ears rather than allowing them to continue to dangle in the dragged up position. Their bickering seemed to attract attention, a Venusian making his way towards them.

"Doomed you say?" The Venusian spoke softly, yet his voice commanded attention."No, not doomed." He began chuckling. "It's pointless to do anything when we don't even know for sure if we're the cause. Even if, the Phoenix will save us!" He bellowed out, laughing in joy, the mask gas mask on his face only serving to make what should have been a reassuring comment into a ominous toned one.

"The Phoenix you say?" The Doctor tilted his head, questioning this remark.

"Yes, praise them. Perhaps, you'd like to see the real ceremony going on right now! Where the Phoenix will come and speak to the people in person!" The Doctors interests were peaked.

"Do lead the way!" The Doctor gestured for the Venusian to lead on. "By the way, I'm the Doctor, and these are my friends, Ellena and Anne." He gestured towards them in the opposite order.

"Aev. Just this way. Doctor of what?" Aev asked as he led them down the city streets, navigating the smog with expertise.

"You said the Phoenix will save the Venusians?"

"Aye yes Doctor, praise them!" The Doctor frowned under the goggles at this response. Ellena glanced towards the Doctor as she and the skipping along Anne followed. She could tell there was something going on his head, something wrong about that statement in particular.

Their new friend had led them into a small room where fans began to pump. The air smog dispersed into the ventilation and the room became surprisingly clear. Aev took off his mask, taking a strong breath of air. His mouth curled, exposing his sharp teeth, crooked, yellow teeth, and black gums, yet that's not what Ellena was eying. She eyed his eyes. All five of them. Two of them extended out from his head, causing Ellena to yelp out in surprise, nearly backing into Anne, who quickly scurried out of the way. The Doctor beamed in excitement.

"Ah good to get a look at that old face, been awhile since I been to these parts. The Venusians who I learned the Akido from weren't so humanoid. " The Doctor commented. Anne piped up in interest, her eyes wide, staring at Aev.

"How do you do that? My eyes don't pop out like that!" her hands fell to her cheek as she looked down for a moment, very noticeably upset over this fact. Aev chuckled, looking way down to find the little girl.

"Never mind that, feel free to take off your filters and get relaxed!" Aev looked at the Doctor with most of his eyes.

"That's fine, I think we'll keep them on," He gave a look towards the girls, indicating for them to heed his words. "It's just such a hassle, taking your clothes on and off, especially when we might just be taking a peak at the Jubilation."

"As you wish, though I have yet to see what the radiated fields passed the Acid Lakes have done to those living there. By the looks of you, it's caused abnormal growths upon your head, among stunting your growth!" Aev commented upon the Doctors hair, glancing at Ellena and Anne, curious of the girls had something similar on the top of their heads as well. The Doctor wiggled his finger at the air towards Aev in disapproval.

"We prefer the term Little Hairy Venusians, so if you'd mind your manners, let us get to the Jubilation." The Doctor scolded half heatedly. Aev conceded with his toothy smirk and led the group past the door, into the main complex.

The room was wide open, a auditorium like room, without the chairs. A stage was in the center, along with a flame along a small circle along the center of the stage, cauldrons chained to its side. There were dancers here as well, and the room was filled with cheering Venusians, all chanting the same thing, 'Phoenix'. The Doctor led Ellena by hand into the crowd, forgetting Anne who wandered on her own.

"Don't wander off." The Doctor whispered loudly to her. Ellena took the chance to query something that had been bothering her.

"Why was he at the Festival?" Ellena referred to Aev, looking around to make sure he wasn't listening, though he blended seamlessly into the crowd. ", and how did he know you said we were from beyond the Acid Lakes? We never mentioned that to him." The Doctor's played his fingers along his cheek in thought, his eyes off into the crowd.

"Exactly Vanet. He was waiting for the opportunity to approach us. He must of blended into the smog and overheard us earlier. Why bring us here though?" The Doctor wondered.  
As they conversed, Anne was making her way on stage. Chanting starting to come from the crowd. 'Phoenix! Phoenix! Phoenix!' One of the Dancers led her to one of the two cauldrons around the fire. On the other side, another dancer did the same, taking a guest and herding them towards the cauldron. The dancer helped Anne get inside, and become comfortable in the cramp space. Placing a hook upon the cauldron, yet another began working a wheel, causing the cauldron to rise up towards the main bonfire. All of the cauldrons rose at once, making their way along the wire to the top of the massive flaming circle of fire.  
"Where's Anne?" Ellena asked, suddenly aware that the little girl was gone. The Doctor simply shrugged, causing her to becoming noticeably irritated.  
"Whats the most trouble she could get in?" The Doctor smiled, not that anyone could see under his scarf, and refastened the scarf over his mouth and nose. Ellena pointed at the center stage and its circle of fire, as the cauldrons rose, each with someone inside.  
'Phoenix! Phoenix! Phoenix!' The crowd continued to echo. The Doctors and Ellenas eyes became glued at once to the cauldron Anne was in. They both shouted for her as the cauldrons reached the top, and began tipping over away from them, emptying their contents into the center of the ring of fire. A massive flame erupted from the center, and the ring exploded into a blinding light, engulfing the crowd.

Cries echoed the festival as the Doctor and Ellena rushed to the center stage, forcing their way through the crowd of the auditorium. Ellena was screaming for Anne, though the Doctor stayed silent, his hand digging into his coats pocket. The people cheered as it began to snow ash, their hands in the air trying to touch a flake. The circle of flame had turned into dust, revealing an odd ring under the ash, where the flame once was. The Doctor grabbed a dancer by the arm, pulling her over to him. A red tattoo of a dragon-like creature around her leftmost eye, marking her apart from the others.  
"What happened?! Where's Anne go!?" The Doctor paused before he clarified, "The little girl?" The Doctor demanded.  
"She volunteered to be sacrificed to the Phoenix!" She explained with a smile. Her voice came out in a echo-like manner as she spoke. "Praise her and the others. Salvation, Rebirth, thanks to them!" The Doctor's eyes were wide behind the goggles, Ellena placing a hand upon his shoulder.  
"Doctor? What's going on?" Ellena had her suspicions but was desperate for the Doctor to explain otherwise. I mean, she barely knew the kid, having met her only a few hours ago when she was running through the Tardis looking for a towel, but it's never nice to think the worst fate of someone you personally met. The Doctor's hand was still searching his pocket as he held onto the girl with the tattoo, but alas he found what he was searching for and took a device out of his pocket. He dragged the dancer as he ran to the center stage, and pointed the Sonic Screwdriver of his along the ring. It was the buzzing noise that attracted Ellena's curiosity. She's seen him using it before, but never thought to ask. She came behind him, looking over his shoulder at the device as he waved it in the air.  
"What's that?" She asked curiously.  
"Sonic screw driver. And according to it, there's something fishy going on here." Ellena raised her brow.  
"What do you mean?"  
"They had fish here, lots of them, within the last 24 hours apparently." The Doctor let go of the dancer and twisted the end of the sonic a bit before pointing it back along the ring, causing it to buzz once more. "Also, this seems to be a pad for some kind of device, I wonder if I could get it-" As he spoke, the three of them burst into flame, leaving only ash where they once stood.


	3. Part 3

~~~ Fires of Venus ~~~

~~~~~~~Part 3~~~~~~~

"-to activate. Oh yes I can." The Doctor exclaimed, taking a look around the room they were now in. The room appeared to be very similar to the auditorium they were just in, with a few key differences. For starters, the only light was red that emanated from the flames behind them. The room was near empty except for Ellena and the dancer with him.  
"What just happened?" Ellena's eyes gazed along the massive auditorium-like room. It might of been the shock that distracted her for so long, but suddenly she realized her back was burning hot. Yelping, she jumped forward and turned around, the massive bonfire pillar behind them, reaching to the top of the room.  
"A trans-mat, brilliant! Well, not a trans-mat per say. Based on the fact one of my livers seems to have been placed a few millimeters off," the Doctor took a look at his hand and twisted his wrist a bit, before he continued. "and the fact it has compacted our tissue a bit, this is a very primitive variation of a trans-mat. But Definitely not Venusian Technology." the Doctor stared at the dancer with them. The red dragon-like tattoo. "It's beyond your people."  
"What is this? What have you done?" The girl with the red tattoo questioned. She was visibly confused by the whole situation.  
"I just tripped the circuit of the trans-mat prematurely, it locked onto the co-ordinates most recently set as its default, and rematerialized us there. Pleasure to meet you, I'm the Doctor and this is Ellena, you are?" The Doctor cheerily extended his hand out towards her, offering a shake.  
"I'm Esther." She paused, looking at the Doctor as she shook hands with him. The women were far skinnier than the men, Ellena began wondering in her head how they even had the muscle to hodl their own weight with how thin and long they were. Not as tall as the men, but still a good foot taller than either of them were.  
"Pleasure to meet you Esther, now then, first things first, I need to find my friend that you said 'Volunteered'. She has to be somewhere around here, and by the lack of smog, I'm assuming this isn't the surface of Venus." He tugged down his scarf and began sniffing the air. "The air, a bit stale, Either deep underground, or a space ship, though with all this fire going on right behind us, I really hope not a space ship. What can you tell me about what's going on?" Esther brushed her hand along he scalp, a oblivious expression on her face.  
"This must be the Phoenix's home. We must leave, only the volunteers come here, and I'm not volunteering!" She cried out, her tone becoming increasingly panicked with each word, as if realizing something dreadful.  
"Why not? What happens to people who volunteer?" Ellena asked as the Doctor crouched off to the side, his finger tracing the ground. A light traced along his goggles before they Cracked.

"Those who volunteer," Esther paused, looking at Ellena, her eye on each side of her head extending into an eyestalk, which caused Ellena to twitch in discomfort. "They're to become vessels for the Phoenix to enter our world.

"That's not exactly correct," The Doctor interrupted, running to the two, his scarf dangling along his neck, goggles dangling in it. "but that doesn't matter right now, what matters is finding Anne and getting out of here. We shouldn't be here." Ellena looked around the room, it was a dome structure really, perfect except for the stage in the center, a hole in the ceiling leading to darkness above, and open doorway not too far away.

"Only one way to go." She stated, beginning her way over, the Doctor following.

"Wait!" Esther yelled out desperately, "We have to leave! Take me back!" The Doctor shook his head and turned to her, not stopping.

"Sorry, can't, just wait right there and we'll be back for you!" With that, they were gone. It wasn't long before the Venusian followed the strangers.

The corridors were badly corroded, with metal mended poorly to seal any holes and breaches that may have either formed, or been there due to poor craftsmanship. The ship was a junker, and Ellena couldn't fathom what mad thought process led to the creation of such a thing, but that's not what bewildered her the most. There were countless amounts of volleyball sized metallic spheres along the corridors. She wondered what they could be. They weren't smooth, no, they looked technological, but past that she couldn't gleam anything else. They didn't travel long before finding a computer console on the wall of an intersection, the screen bright with a saucer.

"A map?" Ellena asked, peaking over the Doctors shoulder as he began tapping away at the buttons. The image changed, two sections of the ship glowing, before zooming in and out. Readouts came across the screen but were gone before Ellena could read more than a few words.

"Exactly. We're only at the outer edges of the saucer, but there's something very interesting at the core. This ship is sitting on top of-" The ship quaked, throwing them to the ground hard. A inhuman roar echoed across the corridors. Esther had stopped her fall, her sleeves spread wide as four additional limbs planted her along the ground firmly.

"We have to leave, now!" The Venusian begged. The Doctor paid little attention, helping Ellena to her feet.

"We NEED to hurry. These Phoenix are on the move." He hurried off.

The Doctor led them down the cramp maze like corridors to the core room, where what appeared to house countless furnaces, rusted iron pipes making up the walls of the room. A few computer consoles spread along the room, obviously to regulate the systems. In the center was a massive furnace, a figure inside of it, and another looking in. A small girl.

"Anne!" Ellena shrieked, catching the girls attention. Who looking back at them, smiled happily and waved cheerily, arm high in the air.

"HAIIII!" She greeted them, excited but with a oddly plain look in her face. She ran towards the two. She seemed completely unconcerned by the figure of a Venusian, withering about inside the furnace. The Doctor hugged and picked the kid up happily, giving her a swing and setting her down.

"Now Ann, what have I told you about going off with strangers?" The Doctor scolded. Anne sighed and looked to the side in a pout.

"I know I know. Only if they have something really really cool." Anne replied. The Doctor gave her a patting upon her head approvingly.

"Remember that for next time. Now then, what do we have here?" The Doctor looked at the figure as it stood. It was ablaze. Its eyes opened, flames burning from them. Its voice bellowed out in a fiery echo. It was immediately obvious to the four of them that it was the source of the scream earlier.

"Interlopers!" It screamed, looking up from the ground at them. It was hunched over onto all 6 arms, the protective wear completely incinerated off its body. "You are not Veh-Noo-See-Ahhhn!" Its voice screeched The Doctor stepped forward, giving Annes hand to Ellena. Suddenly as the Doctor began to step forward, Esther jumped forward, bowing before the creature.

"My apologies! They forced me to come, I don't know who they are!" The Venusian dancer trembled in fear. The Doctor stepped before her and took its attention. The creature cried out in apparent rage and agony, its voice echoing out before it even left it.

"The darkness is coming! We were promised two volunteers!" Its body convulsed, flames erupting form the spine of its body, limb before limb, its back

"And what people might that be? The Phoenix? Ha!" The Doctor spoke with a bitter tone, rolling his life. "Poppycock. The Venusians called you their word of flame, of rebirth, a fictional facade you took, that's why the Tardis detected it. It translated it to Phoenix when we came, because that's what Ellena and Anne would understand." The Doctor was on a rant. Ellena though despite the severity of the situation was growing a bit bored, her eyes dancing along the entire room repeatedly before fallign back upon the creature, the 'Phoenix', each time, until she noticed something. The flame that engulfing the so called Phoenix in the furnace was growing.

"Our bodies burned, yet our minds survived! We found the Venusians! The key to salvation!" The Phoenix replied, slowly rising to its hind legs.

"This ship's been buried and is on its last life. You taught them to create a transmat and to send you the sacrifices, but you only got one instead of the two you expected. Going to make repairs much more difficult, wont it?" The Doctor retorted.

"Help us, Doctor!" The Phoenix took a shaky step forward before falling to a knee, the ordeal straining its body heavily.

"I'm sorry but I can't, and you know it. Archaic technology made from mismatched parts, yet capable of time travel. You came here, shattering a crack through the web of time in your wake. You belong in your own time line Not just that, you need willing bodies, living, willing, bodies." The Doctor flicked a few buttons on the console.

"We will use this ship as a station for the transmat, taking our people from across time ! The Venusians will give us sacrifices in exchange for their salvation!" The Phoenix cried out. The Doctor just shook his head. With a flick of the switch, the hatchway of the massive furnace sealed shut. Ellena ran to him, Anne in hand.

"What are you doing?!" Ellena's interest was peaked.

"We need to stop this now while there's only one of them." He responded, tapping away at the console. "This ends here, before anyone else has to die!"

"No!" Esther screamed out, running at the Doctor, her six arms spread out like a spider. She grabbed Ellena, tossing her aside, as her free hands pierced sensitive nerve centers of his body, causing him to freeze with a pained look on his face, eyes wide. "You'll doom my people? We're growing fewer with each year, we need them!"

A shriek erupted from Esther, causing her to let go and reach back behind her at the ferocious beast that clamped its jaws firmly upon its thigh. Standing there, half a foot short of five feet was Anne, her teeth drawing blood from the Venusian as she dug her maw into her flesh. Having been released from the paralyzing grip of the Venusian, the Doctor pulled away, fumbling about before grabbing Ellena's hand, helping her to her feet, before shouting for the little girl.

"Come along Ms. Plunket!" He called for her as he the fumbling about Ellena out of the room. Anne let go and ran quickly behind the two, before the Doctor twisted a valve before the door of the Engineering room, causing molten hot steam to cover the exit.

"Did you bite her?" Ellena asked in surprise, a question that met with only a toothy grin as an answer. She gave the girl a bemused smile in return. The Doctor looked into the room passed the steam. The Venusian was tending to the bite marks on her thigh as the Furnace door began to turn red. Not a good sign. Definitely not a good sign.

"It's burning through! That furnace was made to take temperatures up to ten thousand degrees, yet there it goes. Not long now at this rate." The Doctor took a grab inside his coat for his pocket watch, flipping it open for a moment and giving it a glance. "I'd say we have 14 minutes." This only made Ellena frantic.

"Well then why are we just waiting here! Lets get back to the Tardis!" She urged. The Doctor shook his head, pocketing the watch.

"Not just yet. We need to get to the Bridge. The systems of this ship is barely hanging in, but there is power. The crack in the web of time, and if the seven constellations are smiling upon us, and little Timmy, just this once got those new pair of socks he's been desperately wanting for Christmas, I might just be able to get this ship to fly right back into the crack, sealing it for good." He took a look around the corridors a bit, spinning around a few times in process, before he came to a realization. "Neither of you would happen to remember which way we came from?" Ellena groaned and rolled her head back while Anne just shook her head.

"We followed a voice here." Anne informed them. The Doctor raised a brow.

"It must have been the bodiless Phoenix. Sadly we don't have one on the Bridge to lead us. Well then, back tracking shouldn't be too tricky if we just do the turns in reverse. Onwards!" He clapped his hands together before hurrying off, the two girls following swiftly behind him.

It wasn't much longer before the red hot furnace door bursted. It flew across the room, with steam shooting out as the figure from inside came out. The body of the Venusian was singed to nothing but a husk yet somehow it held together. Not only did it hold together, the flame that had been eruptting from its spine seemed to form around it like flesh would form around a body. The Phoenix looked upon Esther as she dropped back to her knees in worship, before stomping its way threw the room.

"Pledge your body and soul to the Phoenix, we must have our second sacrifice!" It roared out. Esther's body shook in fear as she whimpered out.

"Yes m'lord! I submit myself fu-" She was cut off as she let out a sudden groan. Clutching herself in pain, flames began to erupt from her spine. The Phoenix began to cackle, stepped pass the steam barrier that covered the door out. As it did, it cried out a command to Esther.

"Kill the Interlopers!"


	4. Part 4

~~~ Fires of Venus ~~~

~~~~~~~Part 4~~~~~~~

"I have good news and bad news." The Doctor spoke as they laid knees deep in a dark slimy pool. Tummy deep in Anne's case. Ellena meanwhile had the most miserable look on her face, mixed with disgust and rage.

"The bad news?" Ellena growled out.

"We're lost." The Doctor slipped a hand in his pocket, coming out with LED flash lights, which he turned on and gave to each of them, not including himself. Ellena took the flashlight and shined it in his eyes, causing him to pull up his goggles and hide behind the tinted lens.

"And the good news, Doctor?!" Ellena was twitching in rage. She already lost one of her dresses, and there was no way the protective cape that she was given to wear was able to keep her boots clean. She began shivering as she felt the gunk seep inside.

"You were right about us being lost." The Doctor smiled, looking around the room, apparently without difficulty despite holding no light of his own, and having the tinted black goggles covering his eyes. Ellena splashed the gunk his way, not that he seemed to mind.

"Doctor, these boots are Italian. Leather, and Italian." She splashed more gunk in his way. Anne giggled and started splashing at the gunk herself, at no one in particular. "Doctor." Ellena continued. "You're going to replace them. Got it"

"It's like Starwars!" Anne chimed, bouncing her way across the murky waters. Ellena rolled her eyes and began looking around herself. The room was sealed and had a lot of junk in it. A door wasn't too far, but no knob or control panel to operate it with. The Doctor looked at Anne though with interest.

"Starwars?" He asked the little girl. She nodded.

"When Luke was trying to save the princess and falls into a garbage dump on the space moon!" She replied with enthusiasm. The Doctor was stiff and quiet in thought, as if he was listening to vital information.

"What happened next?"

"The walls started closing in on them and a monster tried eating them from under the water!" There was silence to this, from both the Doctor and Ellena. 'Tempting fate?' Ellena wondered. The Doctor carefully grabbed a discarded pipe, his eyes frozen on a shadow in the water. Ellena's eyes widened, noticing what he was looking at.

"You don't think-" she stopped mid sentence as the Doctor Shushed her. With a sudden stab, he pierced the shadow in the pool, bringing it up, holding the creature in triumph.

"It's a lot more round than I expected." The Doctor commented. Ellena rotated herself and planted her forehead on the nearest wall. She might not be too savvy on alien technology, but that looked like a car tire to her, or at least, an alien equivalent. Anne only clapped in amazement over the Doctors hunting prowess.

"Alright, now just to worry about the room crushing us, right Anne?" The Doctor asked triumphantly, tossing aside the pipe with the tire. Anne nodded, as Ellena audibly hit her head against the metal wall of the compartment.

"We just have to get out of here first. We came in from the ceiling, so, we just have to get out the same way." The Doctor looked up. Ellena glanced up herself, a brow raised. The trap door that they fell through was firmly in the center of the room. Even if they could climb the walls, they couldn't reach it. She glanced around the room. Nothing but junk and shelves randomly tossed about. Ellena suddenly went running, well, wobbling through the murky waters.

"The shelves! Can we use them?" Ellena asked, grabbing and attempting to drag one to no avail. The Doctor quickly joined after her, along with Anne.

"Good idea Vanet!" He grabbed the shelf and helped her drag it over. Ellena smiled slightly, she enjoyed it whenever he referred to her by her sir name. Climbing the shelf like a ladder, the Doctor reached up, but sadly the edge of the trap door was out of reach. Pacing a bit, he gave a jump, grabbing up onto the ledge, pulling himself up with some struggle before calling for the others to join after him. Ellena helped Anne up, lifting the small girl, and having the Doctor reach out his arms and carry her up, Ellena joining the two shortly after with the Doctors assistance. Ellena groaned, flopping her back along the floor, stretching out, her muscles sore from the ordeal. She wasn't used to such activities, unlike the Doctor, or Anne who'd normally hang herself upside down from monkey bars.

"No rest for the wicked, Vanet." The Doctor chimed, reaching out a hand for her.

"Are you calling me wicked?! You better not be, not after these shoes have been ruined, been DESTROYED by you." Ellena steamed. The structure suddenly shook, causing them to stumble about a bit. A roar of the Phoenix echoed from the hall.

"No time for that now! We're almost there!" The Doctor helped Ellena up, and began moving off towards the opposite direction, yet stopping mid tracks. Noticing a computer panel, he quickly made his way over to it, beginning to type away, bringing up schematics for the ship.

"Doctor?!" Ellena cried out, staring off at the light of a flame closing in on them from the turn of a corridor.

"Just a moment!" He adjusted his goggles, before giving the keyboard a pound. "Alrighty then, got the directions, off we go!" He began, turning his gaze down the corridor, only then realizing that was the direction the Phoenix were coming from.. "Oh. Alright." He paused, glancing back at the trap door that they had fallen through. He took a hop over the gap in the ground and gestured them over. "Stand a bit back." He commented idly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a five foot long pole. Ellena raised her brow to this as she rested her hands on Anne's shoulders, leading her back. She watched the Doctor work, using the pole to knock over the shelf they climbed up, and to pull the trap door back up before discarding it back into the sewage.

"What are you doing?" Ellena asked.

"A trap." Was the Doctors simple response. Suddenly, he let out a loud yell, "Oi! Did you get lost! We're right here!" Ellena fidgeted.

"Doctorrrr!" She looked aside, already planning a run away route. "This is their ship you know. Wouldnt they know about the trap door?" The Doctor gave a smirk her way before speaking silently.

"Most likely. If we're lucky, they might be too distracted or too used to being incorporeal to notice." He responded. Ellena bit her lip as the Phoenix creature came to view, several of its 6 arms grasping at both sides of the corridor, holding it up as its body burned in blue flame. The creature,catching sight of them, increased pace, crying out in malice towards them..

"Burn with us, Doctor!" Its roar echoed out. The Doctor smirked, taking a few steps back from the trap door, attempting to lure the creature over it.

"Not just yet. There's two thing that does puzzle me. Why here? All of time and all of space, what brought the Phoenix here?" The Doctor inquired.

"The legends tell us of our fabled home! We shall return and create a new empire, that which could stand the tests of time itself!" The creature answered. The flames of its body grew larger, making it imposible for them to even dare to try and run passed it.

"That's all good and well, but there's a problem. This ship, its patch worked technology, no way it could of punctured time. Yet, the cracks created in the web of time is massive, just how did your people manage that?" The Doctor asked the creature. It cackled at him in amusement.

"The Darkness, and the End of all things Doctor! It is coming, and even time itself will splinter around it!" Fear was in the creatures voice as it spoke. At last reaching the trap door, the Phoenix let out a cry in surprise. The creature screeched out as it fell through the floor. Steam sizzled out as it fell into the water below, causing it to cry out as the flames extinguished. Walking to the edge, the three looked down below, all that was left was the floating husk of the Venusian sacrificed to bring that creature to their world. The Doctor shook his head and made a arm gesture for the girls to follow.

"Time that we ended this." His voice was flat. 'A twinge of regret?' Ellena wondered. The girls followed the Doctor, the trip to the bridge of the ship being quite uneventful. The bridge, much like all other rooms of the ship was decorated with spheres that littered the sides of the room. The walls were hunks of metal, all different shapes and sizes, all welded poorly together.

"Doctor, one things been bothering me." Ellena asked as the Doctor began flipping switches and hitting buttons. "You said the Venusians will never accomplish space flight."

"So you were wondering, how's this the home of creatures from the future? I'd think that'd be obvious." The Doctor began. The systems of the ship roared to life as the Doctor spoke. "This ship should of never even flown in the first place, yet they traveled the cracks through time. They couldn't control where the crack let out."

"So where are they from then?" She asked. The Doctor shook his head as the ship quaked beneath them.

"That Ms. Vanet, is something I wish I knew. The ships engines are starting up. We just have to get back to their transmat bay before it leaves, and go straight back to the Tardis. When this ship breaches back into the crack, " The Doctor paused for a moment, keeping his eyes fixed on the consoles of the ship. "Lets just say, we don't want to stay on Venus long enough to see what happens."

Without lifting his head, the Doctor began to make his way out the door. The ship shook with life, the sound of the engines roaring in a gentle hum. Making their way back to the room that they arrived in, they once more found the ring platform in the massive spherical room, with them in the center round platform. To the sides passed the rail was the unending fall. Ellena looked over the edge as the Doctor worked, giving him a glance and question.

"Why's this room so massive anyway? The rest are so cramped." Ellena wondered as the Doctor was knelt to the ground, pacing along the ring.

"This room was built as the stasis quarters of this ship, where the inhabitants data was kept. This wasn't just a scout ship, it was a colony ship." The Doctor began, pulling out a compartment in the ring, exposing wiring and circuits that he began to tamper with. "The Genetic data of over 10,000 individuals, kept in the memory bank of the ship, all without a body. This transmat was to reconstitute their physical form, but it failed. The trip destroyed their bodies, crew and storage." As he spoke Ellena gazed all along the sphere room, eyes tracing over the countless shattered glass containers that covered the walls of the room. As she did so, Anne began rocking herself on a rail, leaning a bit more over the rail than Ellena cared for.

"Anne quite that," Ellena scolded as she pulled the girl back over before turning her attention back to the Doctor. "Having problems getting that transmat running again?" The Doctor kept his eyes glued, sparks coming from the wiring as he worked, flicking along the lenses of his goggles.

"The trip back to the Tardis would take about a n hour from the ceremony room, and I'd rather not go through the questions. Also in our current state, another trip without a slight modification could be a bit, hazardous." The Doctor detailed in slight monotone. Ellena raised her brow at the last word.

"A bit... Hazardous, Doctor?" She asked.

"One trip was just fine, but our bodies are still weak. You might of noticed your body being strained a bit easier than normal?" He asked rhetorically before continuing, "This transmat is archaic, and without recovery time, it could be mildly excessively painful of a trip." The Doctor smirked, glancing up at her. The smirk quickly faded as his gaze went passed her.

"Doctor?" Ellena began, noticing the lighting in the room flickering. She heard crunching coming from behind her, leading her to slowly turn around. Entering the room was the second Venusian, engulfed in the flame of the Phoenix. Its body moved, with its entire weight in each step. It roared in pain and anger.

"Doctor!" Two of its arms grabbed the railing with each step, the rest in the air, ready to attack. "You will burn, Doctor!" It screeched out. Ellena smirked a bit, backing away from the creature, grabbing Anne's hand along the way. She smirked nervously with a slight idea passing her mind. 'They kept referring to the Doctor, so perhaps she was safe after all!' Ellena wondered fool heartedly. She glanced along the platform they were on, and short of going over the ledge, and into the abyss below, there was no running away.

"Plan?!" She asked in a panic. The Doctor began speeding up his work on the transmat as the beast continued forward. Continuing towards the trapped trio, it ripped a iron bar of the railing off and holstering it as a weapon.

"You have one? Do detail." The Doctor inquired Ellena, causing her to clench her eyes shut in annoyance.

"No not me, Do you have one!" She almost yelled, attempting to keep herself composed. No time to lash out at him, not with the Phoenix closing in.

"Ah, well, no." he forced two massive wires from under the ring together, causing it to shoot out sparks. "I need more time, but I think we have little choice. Alright, one at a time, it's too dangerous for more than that! Anne! Get in!" The Doctor commanded. Anne quickly nodded and ran inside the ring. The Phoenix screeched in rage, pulling back the iron bar, ready to throw it. The Doctor drew out his sonic. "Remember, get in the Tardis!" He commanded as he turned on his sonic. The Phoenix threw the bar towards Anne as she burst into flame. Missing the girl, the iron bar flew passed, smacking hard into the rail behind them, causing Ellena to jump away with a loud yelp as the bar flew over the edge, having broken its way through.

"Doctor!" Ellena screamed, falling back to the ground. The creature was almost upon them now.

"Your turn Ellena!" The Doctor yelled. She quickly crawled to the platform as the creature was just about on her. She buried her head in the ground under her hands, feeling the burning heat of its body as its arms raised, ready to strike her down. As its arms dropped towards her, she suddenly was overcome in intense pain. The creature screeched out in pain.

Ellena yelped as she felt something hot drop onto the back of her head before rolling off of her. Opening her eyes, she found herself outdoors, the severed arms of the Phoenix laying besides her. Her eyes darted wide as she quickly backed away, searching her eyes wildly in her surroundings before finding the Tardis, not too far away.

"You've been disarmed, Esther." The Doctor stared at the Phoenix as it screeched in pain, its right arms having all been severed by the transmat. "I'm sorry, but you cant return to the surface."

"Doctor!" The creature paused, falling to its knees in pain. "It burns!" It spoke, the voice of the Venusian breaking through. "The darkness Doctor, it's so scared!" Esther began, looking up at him as the ship shook once more. "They ran so far, they'll never stop." The Doctor frowned, slowly stepping around the creature. She was inside the ring.

"What are they Esther? Tell me before the creature reasserts itself!" He Demanded. She let out a cry, using its three remaining arms on her left side to help herself back up.

"We are the the Phoenix!" It cackled, the creature having taken back control of the Venusian body. It charged at the Doctor, arms raised. He ducked around the creature, his scarf unraveling as he swung around, back to the broken railing. The creature turned around once more, charging at him. Ducking out the way, the creature cried out as the Doctor grabbed the end of his fallen scarf, pulling it around its ankle, causing it to fall towards the broken railing. It fell through the gap, letting out a cry as fell through into the abyss. The ship shook as its engines were about to engage. With a flick of the sonic, the Doctor disappeared in a flash and ash.

Coughing, and without his scarf, the Doctor hurried, running through the smog, finding his Tardis. The ground of Venus shook violently, the sound of thunder being heard. It wasn't far, but the Doctor didn't look back,. Taking out his key, he hurriedly unlocked the door, falling through and slamming it shut behind him.

"Doctor!" The two girls chimed in unison, relieved to see him safe. They had already taken off the dark protective capes and gas masks, now that they were back in the safety of the Tardis.

"We're done here. Hope you enjoyed the party." The Doctor spoke in a aggravated tone as he made his way to the console of the Tardis. He began flipping the switches, causing the center time rotor to began to rise and drop as the Tardis let out its whirl, indicating that it was dematerializing.

"So what's going to happen to Venus?" Ellena asked, slowly walking besides the Doctor, half confused on how to act. She could tell he was annoyed.

"The Phoenix's ship breaking back into the crack will trigger a volcanic eruption. A super volcano. With the heat trapped by all that gas, the planet will become uninhabitable." He pulled a cord out of the console, placing it back elsewhere. Ellena just backed up to a railing, leaning back against it a bit. She didn't know how to deal with such a situation. She felt she should say something, but nothing came to mind. Anne trotted besides the Doctor, before tugging at his sleeve.

"Where to next?" She asked with a innocent smile, excited for the next trip. The Doctor gave a smirk, looking down at the little girl, giving her a pat upon the head.

"Well then, what about Barcelona?"

"Barcelona?" Anne asked. The Doctor gave her a grin.

"Yes, I hear they have dogs with no noses! Imagine that! A dog without a nose! But first," the Doctor paused and looked towards Ellena. "I think it's way passed your bed time Missy!"


End file.
